Lipstick Jungle Rundown: Episode Three, "Let It Be"

BuzzSugar — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:30:58 -0700

Wow, Lipstick Jungle gets intense this week. There's another death - our second in three episodes! - and a hearty dose of workplace drama. Even Victory's storylines, which are usually the comic relief, get heavy. There's a lot going on, and a lot set up for the future, so to talk about it, just read more.

When I occasionally complained last year that I wanted the show to be more focused on the women's work and how they got there, this is basically what I meant. This episode really shows how these characters' personal lives can have serious repercussions in their professional lives - and vice versa - whether it's Nico's hesitancy with Kirby or Victory's pressure to date the "right" kind of man.
And obviously nobody feels bigger repercussions than Wendy after Noah's death. I'm still surprised this storyline came up so fast, especially since we just met Noah and it seemed obvious that something big and tragic would happen - but that doesn't mean it's not working for me. Because, ultimately, it's not about Noah. It's about Wendy's compulsive need to meddle with everything and everyone around her, which we've seen since the show started. At first, I thought it was a problem that Wendy was so nice, but now her niceness is getting her into trouble in all kinds of major ways.
Major like "no longer head of a major studio" major. I mean, yikes. That shot of her standing on the street, clearly baffled by everything happening around her, is quite the cliffhanger.

Wendy and Nico both have drama with Gordon in this episode, and since Nico still has her job - for now - hers is admittedly more minor. But I see the two of them facing off in all kinds of ways in the upcoming episodes (probably with that squirrelly Mike character in the middle). To Gordon's credit, though, a "demented chic" fashion layout does sound heinous.
Nico's bigger problem is that she doesn't know how to handle Kirby in her professional life - considering that he, you know, sued for sexual harassment and it wasn't exactly a secret. He wants to go out (and not to weird clothing-switching clubs) and not be some sort of stashed-away dirty laundry. It'll be interesting to see how he emerges.
Victory's store is coming together, but that's about the only thing, since she gets two big relationship shockers this episode: first, her publicist is trying to control her dates, and second, Rodrigo has a daughter. (And third, Joe Bennett is going to great lengths to make her jealous - but that's just not working, as Victory tells him in no uncertain terms to " stop playing these little games and move on with your life.")
At least Victory got one light moment (someone had to this week!), draping her shirt over Joe's security camera so she and Rodrigo could do their nasty in peace (but not without giving Joe one last look at what he was missing).

Are you surprised the Noah fallout came so fast and so hard? Does Gordon have a point, or are you squarely on Wendy and Nico's side in their various disputes? And was anyone else happy to see Joe's sassy assistant back (and railing against dressing rooms that only have curtains - sing it, sister)?

Photos courtesy of NBC

Lipstick Jungle Rundown: Episode Two, "Help"

BuzzSugar — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:36:44 -0700

After a season premiere that brought the three main characters together over a tragedy, Lipstick Jungle sent them out in very different directions this week. Victory's story was sweet, Nico's was hot, and Wendy's was heavy (though also a little bizarre), and I was surprised by which of the three I liked the most. Want to chat about it? Just read more.

I don't know what's come over me, but I'm kind of loving Victory right now. And I'm really liking this flirtation with Carlos Ponce's character, the environmentally friendly contractor of her dreams. They eat hot dogs together! She spies on him via closed-circuit security cameras! They go shopping at flea markets at midnight and buy crystal doorknobs together! It must be love.
Also, her reverie about the history of the crystal doorknob is pretty sweet - and kept from being too cheesy when she snaps out of it and demands a chandelier.
While Victory's off being all McFlirterson with Rodrigo, Nico's working on moving on, which is a little hard when the subject of her late husband's affair pops up demanding his sweater. Ultimately, I thought Nico's offer to help out was classy and generous - right down to giving her the name of the best OB/GYN in New York. But my favorite part was the way she responded to the request for his sweater: "You already have something to remember him by."

Nico's also searching for an outlet for her grief and recovery (at Victory's jewelry sale: "I'm ready to bargain!"). Luckily for her, it doesn't take long for Kirby to show up at Nico's door, and it takes even less time for "we're making soup together" to progress to "we're swapping clothes with strangers and, as Usher might say, makin' love in this club."
Also, it's hard to take Kirby seriously when he's wearing rainbow suspenders.
Meanwhile, Wendy seemed to be on some other show altogether, dealing with Noah, an old friend (had we heard about him before?), actor, and ex-drug addict who was key to her John Lennon movie. Turns out, Noah's erratic and unreliable behavior is all due to an inoperable brain tumor, but Wendy can't let him die without playing Lennon and forges some paperwork so he doesn't have to pass the studio physical. Now, it looks from the previews that her decision will have serious consequences in the coming weeks, but it really seemed to come out of nowhere.
Brief aside: Wendy's storylines seem to jump around the most on the show (last week: mother and daughter issues; this week: big professional decisions), and I wonder if it's because the writers don't know how to handle writing for a relatively happily married person? Without a Kirby or Joe Bennett, what is there to drive Wendy's story forward?
When Victory's assistant first turned up nearly naked, I was too confused to figure out that he might have been evicted. It's good of Victory to offer him the top floor of her new building - to take another step toward getting her way with Joe.
Where were Mary Tyler Moore and Rosie Perez? I assume they'll both be back, but it was a jolt to lose them so soon.

Overall, I didn't like this episode as much as the premiere, but it still set up some interesting things for the future. What did you think? Surprised by where any of the stories are going? And do you prefer things hot, fast, or cheap?

Photos courtesy of NBC